■ Meets true EIA/TIA-232-F Standards
from a +3.0V to +5.5V power supply
■ 235KBps Transmission Rate Under Load
■ 1µA Low-Power Shutdown with Receivers
Active (SP3222E)
■ Interoperable with RS-232 down to +2.7V
power source
■ Enhanced ESD Specifications:
±15kV Human Body Model
±15kV IEC1000-4-2 Air Discharge
±8kV IEC1000-4-2 Contact Discharge
DESCRIPTION
The SP3222E/3232E series is an RS-232 transceiver solution intended for portable or hand-
held applications such as notebook or palmtop computers. The SP3222E/3232E series has
a high-efficiency, charge-pump power supply that requires only 0.1µF capacitors in 3.3V
operation. This charge pump allows the SP3222E/3232E series to deliver true RS-232
performance from a single power supply ranging from +3.3V to +5.0V. The SP3222E/3232E
are 2-driver/2-receiver devices. This series is ideal for portable or hand-held applications such
as notebook or palmtop computers. The ESD tolerance of the SP3222E/3232E devices are
over ±15kV for both Human Body Model and IEC1000-4-2 Air discharge test methods. The
SP3222E device has a low-power shutdown mode where the devices' driver outputs and
charge pumps are disabled. During shutdown, the supply current falls to less than 1µA.
These are stress ratings only and functional operation of the
device at these ratings or any other above those indicated in
the operation sections of the specifications below is not
implied. Exposure to absolute maximum rating conditions
for extended periods of time may affect reliability and cause
permanent damage to the device.
VCC................................................................-0.3V to +6.0V
V+ (NOTE 1)................................................-0.3V to +7.0V
V- (NOTE 1)................................................+0.3V to -7.0V
Unless otherwise noted, the following performance characteristics apply for VCC = +3.3V, 235kbps data rates, all drivers
loaded with 3kΩ, 0.1µF charge pump capacitors, and T
= +25°C.
AMB
6
4
2
Transmitter Output Voltage [V]
0
0
-2
-4
-6
500
1000
Load Capacitance [pF]
1500
2000
Figure 1. Transmitter Output Voltage VS. Load
Capacitance for the SP3222 and the SP3232
50
5
0
0500
118KHz
60KHz
10KHz
1000
Load Capacitance [pF]
1500
2000
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
Supply Current [mA]
10
Vout+
Vout-
2330
14
12
10
8
6
Slew Rate [V/µs]
4
2
0
0500
1000
Load Capacitance [pF]
1500
2000
+Slew
-Slew
Figure 2. Slew Rate VS. Load Capacitance for the
SP3222 and the SP3232
2330
Figure 3. Supply Current VS. Load Capacitance when
Transmitting Data for the SP3222 and the SP3232
The SP3222E/3232E transceivers meet the EIA/
TIA-232 and V.28/V.24 communication protocols and can be implemented in battery-powered, portable, or hand-held applications such as
notebook or palmtop computers. The SP3222E/3232E devices all feature Sipex's proprietary
on-board charge pump circuitry that generates 2
x VCC for RS-232 voltage levels from a single
+3.0V to +5.5V power supply. This series is
ideal for +3.3V-only systems, mixed +3.3V to
+5.5V systems, or +5.0V-only systems that require true RS-232 performance. The SP3222E/3232E series have drivers that operate at a typical data rate of 235Kbps fully loaded.
The SP3222E and SP3232E are 2-driver/2-receiver devices ideal for portable or hand-held
applications. The SP3222E features a 1µA
shutdown mode that reduces power consumption and extends battery life in portable systems.
Its receivers remain active in shutdown mode,
allowing external devices such as modems to be
monitored using only 1µA supply current.
THEORY OF OPERATION
The SP3222E/3232E series are made up of three
basic circuit blocks: 1. Drivers, 2. Receivers,
and 3. the Sipex proprietary charge pump.
The slew rate of the driver output is internally
limited to a maximum of 30V/µs in order to meet
the EIA standards (EIA RS-232D 2.1.7, Paragraph 5). The transition of the loaded output
from HIGH to LOW also meets the monotonicity requirements of the standard.
The SP3222E/3232E drivers can maintain high
data rates up to 240Kbps fully loaded. Figure 8
shows a loopback test circuit used to test the
RS-232 drivers. Figure 9 shows the test results
of the loopback circuit with all drivers active at
120Kbps with RS-232 loads in parallel with
1000pF capacitors. Figure 10 shows the test
results where one driver was active at 235Kbps
and all drivers loaded with an RS-232 receiver
in parallel with a 1000pF capacitor. A solid
RS-232 data transmission rate of 120Kbps
provides compatibility with many designs
in personal computer peripherals and LAN
applications.
The SP3222E driver's output stages are turned
off (tri-state) when the device is in shutdown
mode. When the power is off, the SP3222E
device permits the outputs to be driven up to
±12V. The driver's inputs do not have pull-up
resistors. Designers should connect unused
inputs to VCC or GND.
Drivers
The drivers are inverting level transmitters that
convert TTL or CMOS logic levels to ±5.0V
EIA/TIA-232 levels inverted relative to the input logic levels. Typically, the RS-232 output
voltage swing is ±5.5V with no load and at least
±5V minimum fully loaded. The driver outputs
are protected against infinite short-circuits to
ground without degradation in reliability. Driver
outputs will meet EIA/TIA-562 levels of ±3.7V
with supply voltages as low as 2.7V.
In the shutdown mode, the supply current falls to
less than 1µA, where SHDN = LOW. When the
SP3222E device is shut down, the device's
driver outputs are disabled (tri-stated) and the
charge pumps are turned off with V+ pulled
down to VCC and V- pulled to GND. The time
required to exit shutdown is typically 100µs.
Connect SHDN to VCC if the shutdown mode is
not used. SHDN has no effect on RxOUT or
RxOUTB. As they become active, the two driver
outputs go to opposite RS-232 levels where one
driver input is HIGH and the other LOW. Note
The drivers typically can operate at a data rate
of 235Kbps. The drivers can guarantee a data
that the drivers are enabled only when the
magnitude of V- exceeds approximately 3V.
rate of 120Kbps fully loaded with 3KΩ in
parallel with 1000pF, ensuring compatibility
with PC-to-PC communication software.
Figure 10. Driver Loopback Test Results at 235kbps
9
Page 10
Receivers
The receivers convert EIA/TIA-232 levels to
TTL or CMOS logic output levels. All receivers
have an inverting tri-state output. These receiver
outputs (RxOUT) are tri-stated when the enable
control EN = HIGH. In the shutdown mode, the
receivers can be active or inactive. EN has no
effect on TxOUT. The truth table logic of the
SP3222E/3232E driver and receiver outputs can
be found in Table 2.
Since receiver input is usually from a transmission line where long cable lengths and system
interference can degrade the signal, the inputs
have a typical hysteresis margin of 300mV. This
ensures that the receiver is virtually immune to
noisy transmission lines. Should an input be left
unconnected, a 5kΩ pulldown resistor to ground
will commit the output of the receiver to a HIGH
state.
Charge Pump
The charge pump is a Sipex–patented design
(5,306,954) and uses a unique approach compared to older less–efficient designs. The charge
pump still requires four external capacitors, but
uses a four–phase voltage shifting technique to
attain symmetrical 5.5V power supplies. The
internal power supply consists of a regulated
dual charge pump that provides output voltages
5.5V regardless of the input voltage (VCC) over
the +3.0V to +5.5V range.
— VDD transfer — The fourth phase of the clock
connects the negative terminal of C2 to GND,
and transfers this positive generated voltage
across C2 to C4, the VDD storage capacitor. This
voltage is regulated to +5.5V. At this voltage,
the internal oscillator is disabled. Simultaneous
with the transfer of the voltage to C4, the positive
side of capacitor C1 is switched to VCC and the
negative side is connected to GND, allowing the
charge pump cycle to begin again. The charge
pump cycle will continue as long as the operational conditions for the internal oscillator are
present.
Since both V+ and V– are separately generated
from VCC; in a no–load condition V+ and V– will
be symmetrical. Older charge pump approaches
that generate V– from V+ will show a decrease in
the magnitude of V– compared to V+ due to the
inherent inefficiencies in the design.
The clock rate for the charge pump typically
operates at 250kHz. The external capacitors can
be as low as 0.1µF with a 16V breakdown
voltage rating.
potential to store electro-static energy and
discharge it to an integrated circuit. The
simulation is performed by using a test model as
shown in Figure 17. This method will test the
IC’s capability to withstand an ESD transient
during normal handling such as in manufacturing
areas where the ICs tend to be handled
frequently.
The IEC-1000-4-2, formerly IEC801-2, is
generally used for testing ESD on equipment
and systems. For system manufacturers, they
must guarantee a certain amount of ESD
protection since the system itself is exposed to
the outside environment and human presence.
The premise with IEC1000-4-2 is that the
system is required to withstand an amount of
static electricity when ESD is applied to points
and surfaces of the equipment that are
accessible to personnel during normal usage.
The transceiver IC receives most of the ESD
current when the ESD source is applied to the
connector pins. The test circuit for IEC1000-4-2
is shown on Figure 18. There are two methods
within IEC1000-4-2, the Air Discharge method
and the Contact Discharge method.
ESD Tolerance
With the Air Discharge Method, an ESD
voltage is applied to the equipment under
The SP3222E/3232E series incorporates
ruggedized ESD cells on all driver output and
receiver input pins. The ESD structure is
improved over our previous family for more
rugged applications and environments sensitive
to electro-static discharges and associated
transients. The improved ESD tolerance is at
least ±15kV without damage nor latch-up.
test (EUT) through air. This simulates an
electrically charged person ready to connect a
cable onto the rear of the system only to find
an unpleasant zap just before the person
touches the back panel. The high energy
potential on the person discharges through
an arcing path to the rear panel of the system
before he or she even touches the system. This
energy, whether discharged directly or through
There are different methods of ESD testing
applied:
a) MIL-STD-883, Method 3015.7
b) IEC1000-4-2 Air-Discharge
c) IEC1000-4-2 Direct Contact
air, is predominantly a function of the discharge
current rather than the discharge voltage.
Variables with an air discharge such as
approach speed of the object carrying the ESD
potential to the system and humidity will tend to
change the discharge current. For example, the
The Human Body Model has been the generally
accepted ESD testing method for semiconduc-
rise time of the discharge current varies with
the approach speed.
tors. This method is also specified in MIL-STD883, Method 3015.7 for ESD testing. The premise
of this ESD test is to simulate the human body’s
The Contact Discharge Method applies the ESD
current directly to the EUT. This method was
devised to reduce the unpredictability of the
ESD arc. The discharge current rise time is
constant since the energy is directly transferred
without the air-gap arc. In situations such as
hand held systems, the ESD charge can be
directly discharged to the equipment from a
person already holding the equipment. The
current is transferred on to the keypad or the
serial port of the equipment directly and then
travels through the PCB and finally to the IC.
SW2
SW2SW2
C
CC
S
SS
Device
Under
Test
The circuit models in Figures 17 and 18
represent the typical ESD testing circuits used
for all three methods. The CS is initially charged
add up to 330add up to 330ΩΩ f for IEC1000-4-2.or IEC1000-4-2.
V V
Device
Under
Test
13
Page 14
For the Human Body Model, the current
limiting resistor (RS) and the source capacitor
(CS) are 1.5kΩ an 100pF, respectively. For
I ➙
30A
IEC-1000-4-2, the current limiting resistor (RS)
and the source capacitor (CS) are 330Ω an 150pF,
respectively.
15A
The higher CS value and lower RS value in the
IEC1000-4-2 model are more stringent than the
Human Body Model. The larger storage
capacitor injects a higher voltage to the test
0A
point when SW2 is switched on. The lower
current limiting resistor increases the current
SP3222ECA ............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C .......................................... 20-Pin SSOP
SP3222ECP ............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C ............................................18-Pin PDIP
SP3222ECT ............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C ........................................... 18-Pin SOIC
SP3222ECY ............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C ........................................ 20-Pin TSSOP
SP3222EEA ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ........................................ 20-Pin SSOP
SP3222EEP ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ..........................................18-Pin PDIP
SP3222EET ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ......................................... 18-Pin SOIC
SP3222EEY ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ...................................... 20-Pin TSSOP
SP3232ECA............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C .......................................... 16-Pin SSOP
SP3232ECP............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C ............................................16-Pin PDIP
SP3232ECT ............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C .................................. 16-Pin Wide SOIC
SP3232ECY ............................................. 0˚C to +70˚C ........................................ 16-Pin TSSOP
SP3232EEA ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ........................................ 16-Pin SSOP
SP3232EEP ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ..........................................16-Pin PDIP
SP3232EET ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ................................ 16-Pin Wide SOIC
SP3232EEY ............................................ -40˚C to +85˚C ...................................... 16-Pin TSSOP
Please consult the factory for pricing and availability on a Tape-On-Reel option.
Corporation
SIGNAL PROCESSING EXCELLENCE
Sipex Corporation
Headquarters and
Sales Office
22 Linnell Circle
Billerica, MA 01821
TEL: (978) 667-8700
FAX: (978) 670-9001
e-mail: sales@sipex.com
Sales Office
233 South Hillview Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035
TEL: (408) 934-7500
FAX: (408) 935-7600
Sipex Corporation reserves the right to make changes to any products described herein. Sipex does not assume any liability arising out of the
application or use of any product or circuit described hereing; neither does it convey any license under its patent rights nor the rights of others.